First Trust Advisors LP Boosts Stock Holdings in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI)

First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE:ARI - Free Report) by 221.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 189,168 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 130,308 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.14% of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance worth $1,638,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,236,601 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $131,949,000 after purchasing an additional 135,785 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,263,378 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $19,601,000 after purchasing an additional 162,089 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,063,511 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $9,210,000 after purchasing an additional 115,109 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,022,941 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $8,859,000 after purchasing an additional 56,284 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 617,114 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $5,344,000 after purchasing an additional 16,040 shares in the last quarter. 54.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ARI has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $8.00 to $9.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, BTIG Research upgraded shares of Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $11.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $9.88.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Carmencita N.M. Whonder sold 11,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.96, for a total value of $109,560.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 9,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at $95,855.04. This trade represents a 53.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark C. Biderman sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.48, for a total transaction of $94,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 60,787 shares in the company, valued at $576,260.76. This represents a 14.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 73,074 shares of company stock valued at $724,579. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Price Performance

ARI stock traded up $0.19 during trading on Monday, hitting $9.78. 99,100 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,107,151. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. has a 52 week low of $7.70 and a 52 week high of $11.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.30 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 51.19 and a current ratio of 51.19. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $9.21.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance (NYSE:ARI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.07. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance had a negative net margin of 39.40% and a positive return on equity of 9.37%. As a group, research analysts expect that Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. will post 0.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.23%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance's dividend payout ratio is currently -3,333.33%.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance Company Profile

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc operates as a real estate investment trust (REIT) that originates, acquires, invests in, and manages commercial first mortgage loans, subordinate financings, and other commercial real estate-related debt investments in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe.